Thursday 14 June 2012

How Long Tail Keywords Can Improve Your Web Page Rankings . . . And Help You Convert More Visitors Into Buyers

Long tail keywords are really keyword phrases which generally contain from three to five words – though it could be more. These are keywords and phrases that your website or blog could rank highly for, yet they are often overlooked by business owners, or at best, not exploited nearly as vigorously as they could be.

Using long tail keywords in your online marketing can benefit your business in several ways. Long tail keywords generally:

  • Are less expensive to bid for than single keywords when it comes to pay per click advertising.

  • Extremely specific terms which result in highly-targeted traffic, which in turn leads to more conversions.

  •  Lend themselves to better targeted content and ads which are more likely to reap successful results.

The key to long tail keyword success is in the research

Tailoring web page content and ad content to meet the needs of your target audience or market sector is by no means an easy feat. However, we’ve recognised the importance of ‘relevance’ in brand advertising – particularly with social media – and the benefits that can bring. It’s clear that today’s online customers are looking for personalised content rather than generic.



So as a business owner whose aim is to see your blog or website rise majestically through the rankings, how might you go about unearthing potential long tail keywords to target?

Let’s start with what you sell.

Do you know what the most popular search terms are when people search for your product or service?

It’s highly probable that your top 10 keywords could be bringing in 80 per cent of your traffic. However on closer examination, you could find that 80 per cent of your visitors (traffic) only account for 20 per cent of your sales. In fact it’s the lesser-considered keywords and phrases that provide 20 per cent of your visitors, but 80 per cent of your online income. It’s like Pareto’s 80/20 principle in reverse!

Let’s say for example you sell running shoes. Wouldn’t it be great to be on Google page 1 for “running shoes”? Well of course it could be beneficial to you. However consider which of the following online searchers might be more likely to be primed to buy from you TODAY:
Customer A – whose search term is: “running shoes.”
or
Customer B – whose search term is: “Nike Air Max+ 2012 size 9.”
Customer B clearly has his credit card at the ready if you can supply the goods.
Of course, there is an outside chance that he is on your site checking out price comparisons, but there’s every chance you’ll make the sale. This is an example of our long tail keyword strategy in action.

One of the most proactive things you can do is to sit down and compile a list of the top 20 questions customers ask about your product or service. These questions make perfect topics for your blog content and they also give an indication of the long tail keywords your business should be targeting.
Thinking like your ideal customer and designing your content accordingly will attract lots of attention to your site.

Chasing the long tail can definitely be good for business. So get the research right, focus on your site’s content and consistently test your long tail keyword strategies and you could soon be onto a winner.

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